The BEST idea

No one likes to be told they're are doing something wrong - especially me. When we act upon a choice, we do so because either we think it is the right thing to do, or we have justified it to ourselves in our own mind that there is nothing wrong with what we are doing. But sometimes, even with the best intentions, we arrive at wrong conclusions when we take into consideration the "facts" of the issue.

It seems to me that based on our predisposed opinions, agenda, and point of view, we perceive reality the way we want to see it. Now there's nothing wrong with having an opinion or belief about something - that's what makes us unique; it's a part of our individuality.  But the goal is to see through a clear, objective lens, not a distorted subjective one.

Often I'll be faced with a problem and have to come up with a solution. If I'm able to come up with an idea that solves the problem, it automatically becomes the BEST idea amongst all others, because it was my idea. It doesn't matter that someone else's idea is objectively better, one that clearly addresses the problem and meets all the required criteria. If it didn't come from between my two ears, or pass my subjective approval, it is not the best idea.

My pastor preached a message this last weekend on "self deception" as a part of a series called "Masquerade" (if you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely do so; follow the link http://www.lifechurch.tv/watch). One of the most challenging points to me was when he said that, "Often the more convinced you are you're right, the more likely you are wrong." At first i didn't like this statement. It's clearly not a black-and-white statement that is correct 100% of the time, but it does provide just reason to pause and consider: am I right because of the intensity of my conviction, or am I right because the collaborative evidence objectively supports my belief? What I found in introspection of myself is that I often conclude that I am right because of my own predisposed bias towards my own ideas that are always right - this is bias of mine was distorting my lens.

"You cannot hate the sin you don't detect; you cannot overcome sin that you cannot identify." Craig Groeschel

Now that I have identified this source of self deception, I can now do something about it. Awareness is half the battle. What about you?  Here's a few points that Craig made in his message, to help us uncover our distorted view of ourselves:

1. Pray. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

2. Listen. "He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding." Proverbs 15:31-32

3. Change. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:3

Don't brush this off. Pray. Listen. Change. 

The heart of worship

"I'll give you more than a song, for a song in itself is not what you have required. You search much deeper within through the way things appear, You're looking into my heart."

These are some pretty profound lyrics by Matt Redman, from his song, "the heart of worship."  They challenge the idea that worship is merely singing songs about God, which, right or wrong, is what worship is often thought of in our day. 

But any good worship song will have more than just a catchy tune; it will be based upon good solid biblical theology. And that is the case with this song. Romans 12:1 states:

"Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship." (HCSB)

Prior to this passage, Paul spent a great deal of time reminding us how great God's kindness is toward us, that through faith in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven of our sins. So in light of this, he tells those who have been made new in Christ that our only reasonable response to God is to worship Him for what He has done for us! But how should we worship Him; how should we demonstrate our gratitude for such an extravagant gift that we are completely unable to repay? By living our lives fully surrendered to God, for His purposes, for His glory.

Is singing songs about and to God for 20 minutes on Sunday mornings with God's people important? Isn't that a way that we can worship God? An emphatic Yes, and Yes! But is it our spiritual act of worship? Well, not according to this passage in Romans. In this passage, Paul is reminding us that in light of what God has done for us in saving us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, our only reasonable response is to worship Him through the lives that we live, fully surrendered to Him! 

So how do we do this; how we learn to do what is holy and pleasing to God? Paul tells us in verse 2:

"Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2 (HCSB)

Renewing our mind is the key. Without consistent quality time with God in His Word, our mind begins to fail us, forgetting what God has revealed to us in the Bible, how significant those discoveries are to us, and provide clear reasons to remind us of the hope that we have, and how great a joy it is to live fully surrendered to the King of Glory, Jesus Christ!  It is through the proper perspective of seeing the life we live as God sees it, which we discover by the regular and frequent renewing of our mind and enabling of the Holy Spirit to perceive how His Word applies to our lives that we are able to discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

From this proper perspective, we are able to realize that our obedience to Christ, our pursuit of His righteousness in our life is our spiritual act of worship. From this perspective we also discover that this obedience to Christ also includes being faithful stewards of all that God has given us, including our time, our talents, our abilities, our giftings, and our resources as He has given us.

So, if you are gifted in writing, your spiritual act of worship would include writing as God leads you. If your gift is in listening and encouraging people, then you are worshiping God by simply doing what you were created to do. If you are a parent, then you are worshiping God by raising and training up your children in the Lord. And be sure of this, parenting children is tough, and sometimes we don't really want to be parents. But when we choose to embrace this role and refuse to give in to frustration and impatience and choose to love and lead our children, we are offering our bodies as living sacrifices and worshiping our loving Creator.

If we offer our "living sacrifice" begrudgingly, out of a heart of obligation, we forfeit the opportunity to offer a true spiritual act of worship. God is no fool. He knows when we are faking it, and when we choose to surrender our will to His. What a blessing it is that the Holy Spirit resides in us, enabling us to do what our flesh refuses! For it is only by His Spirit in us that we are able to live from a pure and holy heart that's greatest desire is to honor and glorify the One who made it, who gave His life to save us!

"All over the world"

Haven't read any out of the New Testament in quite a while, and thought i'd start reading in Romans today. The thing i love about reading the New Testament is that you can't read very far without coming across those things that move us, challenge us, or encourage us in our walk to be come fully devoted disciples after our Lord Jesus. My reading today was no different; couldn't even make it past verse 8 of Romans chapter 1:

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.

As I read this, Matt Redman's song "all over the world" came to mind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGoj0oJGLm4), and made me think: Would Paul say this of us if he were writing to us today? Sure, there are many churches that might have this reputation: HillSong, Lifechurch.tv, etc. But what does YOUR world say about your faith in Jesus Christ? Your neighbors? Your co-workers? Your family and friends?
Hear me clearly: the point is not to make our faith famous, but to make Jesus famous. And the question the world is begging us to answer is this: what difference does Jesus make if he makes no difference in the lives of those that profess to follow him?
Our answer to this question can be nothing short of this: a life fully submitted to the lordship of Jesus through faith (active-trust). People may not beleive what you say, but they will always beleive what you do.
My prayer is that each of you who read this would be stirred by the Holy Spirit to consider the opportunity, our resonable response to the Gosple, to be the salt and light He has called us to be, for His namesake, all over the world.

One Year Bible, Week 2

This week, the blueletterbible.org chronological reading plan had me reading in Job. So far, I've read thru chapter 31, and looking back, I've found one thing for sure: Job's friends are jerks.

In Christian apologetics, we are taught to always give a reason for the hope that we have, and to do so with gentleness and respect, and that the ultimate goal is to win the person. Unfortunately, well-meaning Christians often will strive to win the argument at all cost, including at the expense of the person who they are trying to win. And this is the script that Job's friends followed.

Often people will jump straight to the end conclusion that Job's friends are jerks and have no sympathy for Job. But I don't think they intended to end up in the conversation they had. After Job lost everything- his wealth, his children, his health- his friends showed an amazing level of compassion towards Job by sitting on the ground with him for SEVEN days and nights in silence! I can't even imagine sitting still with some one for a single day, let alone 7 days!

The text doesn't tell us, but its possible that they were fasting during this time for their tragedy-strucken friend, who they apparently cared for deeply. But somewhere along the way, they forgot their love for Job, and felt like it was their duty to play God in Job's life and tell Job to repent of his many sins. After all, (in their mind) only the rebellious sinner suffers in this life, not the righteous....

There's a lot for us to be learned here. Probably the biggest thing I came away with is that when people are hurting or grieving, they don't need to hear your words as much as they need to feel that you care. Often a friends mere presence in our time of grief speaks volumes about how much they love us.

There is a time to talk through the questions and emotions, and when that time comes, don't follow the lead of Job's friends. If it is more important for you to be right than to grieve with your friend, then you will inevitably accomplish your goal to win the argument, and not the person.

Authentic Christian community requires faith

Acts 4:32-35
"All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.  There were no needy persons among them.  For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."

I read this passage this morning and couldn't help thinking how awesome it would be to live amongst believers who lived like this. A spoken faith backed up by action. I guess that's the true measure of faith any way. Praying that God would open the eyes of my heart so that I can see where he's calling me, moving me, burdening me for His Church, His Name, and His purposes. Praying also that God would do the same for you.

The Blessed Life: A Heart of Generosity

The "bag" is not enough.
The "basket" is more than enough.
The ''barn" is infinitely more than enough.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you need to watch this week's message from lifechurch.tv before reading on- click on this link to watch. http://www.lifechurch.tv/message-archive.

From time to time, Craig will take us through these kinds of messages, those that demonstrate a progressive level of commitment to Christ. In this message, the bag mindset is what we were pre-programed with, and the barn mindset is that which we hope to posses.

Most of us have a hard time graduating past the bag mindset because the bag equals security. it equals comfort. it equals our control of our lives. moreover, it seats money on the throne of our lives. If we don't have enough in the bag, we strive to spend less or make more so we can live the lifestyle that we want, have the security we desire, and to ultimately live comfortably. The foremost problem with the bag mindset is that the bag and what it contains is the lord of our lives, and not God.
The funny thing to me is that as tightly as we cling to the bag in our hand, God has already given us a basket and a barn. In order to experience barn blessings, we have to let go of the bag, because the barn requires stewardship (for it all belongs to Him anyway), and you can't steward the barn with a bag mindset. But a change of mind requires a change of lordship over our lives.

When God is on the throne of our lives, we turn to Him for all of our needs - He is our provider. Yes, this is difficult because it requires FAITH- and not just faith in faith, but faith IN God. And it is not blind faith or faith with out reason. He is faithful, and we can trust Him. Because His ways are higher than our ways, because He loves us, because He is a good God, we can trust Him- even when our prayers are not answered the way we wanted Him to, even when tragedy comes, because He is sovereignly in control, working all things together for those that love Him, that are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). As long as Christ is not King of our lives, we will continue to endure disappointment, dissatisfaction, frustration, and discontentment.

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24.

Closing thought: Our money has the words "in God we trust" written on it. Shouldn't this be a reminder to us that it is God whom we trust, and not money?
Which one will we serve? can't have it both ways. How have you experienced the change from the bag mindset to the basket or the barn mindset? Share your thoughts- many of you reading this may be like me, just now becoming aware of our condition, and desiring to take steps towards trusting God and not money.

Oh, how He loves us...

"Oh, how He loves us, oh - how He loves us..."

... the chorus of a beautiful song that sings the heart of those that know the risen Christ, who have have been forgiven a debt that could never be repaid, who know peace from accepting a pure and holy grace matched by none, offered freely by the One and only one capable of offering such a gift.

So often, we fall into patterns of thinking that our salvation in Christ is associated by our performance of doing the "do's" and avoiding the "don'ts". And though we may have seasons of seemingly "good performances", our flesh will inevitably remind us that we are sinners to the utter core, incapable of living a sinless life.

In these moments, when we are reminded of our humanity, we tend to drown ourselves in remorse, so ashamed of our inability to do that which we are incapable of doing apart from Christ. At times, we may even wrestle with God - though we know that there is no quantity or qualitative sin that He can't and won't forgive, our flesh tries to convince us that we have some how disqualified ourselves from His grace.

I believe this song captures the moment when we finally realize that His grace is sufficient, that it is more than enough for us. When we stop trying to get our life cleaned up, carrying the baggage of guilt, trying to earn God's grace and forgiveness, we experience a freedom that the world cannot understand. We have been forgiven, just as we are, and then we remember that the Lord of heaven and earth, the lover of our souls loves US - EACH of us, uniquely, individually - again, Just..................As....................We.....................Are.

Have you let go of your guilt, your shame, your bondage? The Lord Jesus is able and wants to free you, to forgive you, to save you, to sanctify you, just as you are. Will you let Him? Click on the link below as you consider His amazing love for us...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUbImPNsmng&feature=related

"I'm just not being fed..."

"I'm just not being fed..."

Unfortunately, this is a complaint being expressed by far too many Christians in churches today - the message isn't deep enough for me; I'm not being taught the Word of God; my pastor isn't teaching me the Bible verse by verse...

I believe that these complaints are serious, and should not be taken likely. The church plays a critical role in developing the Body of Christ - no doubt about it. The topic of discipleship is worthy of numerous separate posts dealing with this issue. For the purpose of this post, however, I would like to submit a question to those that share these dissatisfying feelings about their pastor:

Why is it someone else's fault that you are not being spiritually fed?

I would lovingly yet firmly state that if you have a Bible and you can read, you are responsible for feeding yourself.

Never before have we had access to more Bibles, more personal devotion materials, and more means to get the Word of God into our hearts. We now have the ability to receive daily bible verses emailed or twittered to us, daily reading plans - we even have access to view the Bible for free on our cell phones (http://www.youversion.com/). With all these things available - not to mention that some in other countries can't get enough Bibles - why is it that we are not taking more responsibility for our own spiritual growth in Christ?

I used to share this critical sentiment against my pastor. For a season, instead of "feeding" myself, i would spend much of my time and energy criticizing my pastor and church because they didn't teach me the Bible, verse by verse. Looking back, I failed to realize that it wasn't my pastor's responsibility to feed me. His job is to equip the saints to do the work of proclaiming the gospel to the world through the spoken and lived lives of the Body of Christ, who live in submission of Holy Spirit's leading.

And there was no doubt that he was doing exactly that - comforting and confronting, bringing the application of God's Word deep into our hearts so that we would be moved, challenged and convicted by the Holy Spirit, and mobilized in to the faithful ministries that God has called each of us to. He simply was operating on the understanding that every believer was feeding themselves, and that he was simply helping the body connect the dots, drawing biblical application, and confronting us with a call to action.

What's more, I had DAILY access to pastors that were gifted to teach the Bible verse by verse, via my radio (http://www.bottradionetwork.com/), bible study groups, life groups, and about a dozen Bibles and commentaries laying around my house to help me get God's Word into my heart!

To be clear, I believe that the church has a role in the spiritual development of every believer, and there is a season in the beginning of every believer's life where they need spiritual milk, where they need to be spoon-fed. But at the end of the day, when we should already be well beyond milk, when God calls us to give an account for our stewardship of the resources that were plainly available for our spiritual development, every believer is responsible for "feeding" themselves.

There are numerous resources available to help every Christian get the Word of God into their hearts, to help them in their growth and understanding. I would love the opportunity to help anyone needing some help to get started - please leave your questions or comments and I will gladly offer any assistance that I can to help move any honest seeker move towards being a "self feeder."

fruit happens

Upon doing a word search on www.youversion.com of the word "fruit", I found that there were tons of references of fruit in the Bible. Though the context in which the word is used varies, one of the common reoccuring themes is the idea that our lives bear fruit. Reading in Matthew, I found several references made by Jesus about fruit (Matt. 7:17-18, for example).

As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we desire for our lives to bear "good" fruit. If we have good fruit, that means we are a good tree, and that we will be pleasing in the sight of God. Jesus said that every tree that bears bad fruit (or no fruit at all) will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So how do we bear good fruit? What do we have to do?

Let me try to answer that question in this way: fruit happens - fruit is not the point, Jesus is. Fruit is merely the result of living out of the overflow of what God is doing in our hearts.

Don't focus on the works of a Christian, but the heart. Abide in Christ our vine, for apart from Him, we can do nothing . When we abide in Him, our heart aligns with His, and we are enabled to do good works which he prepared for us in advance (John 15:4-5, Eph. 2:10).

How do we abide in Christ - and what does that even mean? My defiinition is a continual condition of remaining in Christ, to know the heart and mind of the Lord Jesus through the revelation of His word and to follow His teaching.

The normative process is found through hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on the Word, and comes to fruition by the personal application in our lives. But we need help along the way. We need those Paul's of the faith to come along side us Timothy's who are yearing to grow in Christ, but just need some help - this is the process of discipleship.

As we walk with Him, we grow, and are all the more focused on Jesus, so much that we don't even realize that we are bearing fruit. Fruit happens along the way when we are seeking God and being transformed into His image. Fruit is not the point, Jesus is.

Profiting from the Prophets

About a month ago, I started reading the book of Daniel in the Bible for the first time. Up until now, I have read the new testament many times, and most of the old testament - but none of the major/minor prophets. So far, I have read Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micha.

It's been kinda fun reading through these books - first of all because I've been reading the snot out of them on the youversion.com app for my phone, secondly, because I am discovering the roots of my Christian beliefs. Today, for example, I read this passage in Micha 7:18-20:

18 Who is a God like You, removing iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not hold on to His anger forever, because He delights in faithful love.
19 He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show loyalty to Jacob and faithful love to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from days long ago.

These verses are the last of a book where Micah is telling of God's coming judgement on His people and their sin. Words of hope. Our sins will be forgotten, cast into the depths of the sea. Who is like our God? So many times, I have heard phrases or thoughts like this in songs and sermons and have thought, wow, what a great word! Like the Bereans and Paul's teaching in Acts 17:11, I am spiritually profiting from going to God's word to discover the roots of the Christian faith!

Admittedly, most of the verses that I've read for the first time have not yet registered any significant meaning to me. I recognize that they are contextualized within the history books of the old testament, and will have to set aside some time to really study if I am to grasp all of the richness of each author's inspired words in these pages.

Word of encouragement for the day: read your bibles! You don't have to master every verse and chapter the first time you read it. Let it be process, and enjoy discovering the treasures of this masterfully written and divinely inspired book where God speaks, where we can find hope, and where we find meaning and purpose for our short-lived lives on this earth!

contentment

This morning I was getting my daughter some cereal for breakfast. She is a huge cereal fan, like her daddy, and says to me: "Daddy, I want a lot." She says this, of course, because she is really hungry and thinks that she could literally devour all food in sight. Not sure where she gets this from... But me, being a "professional" parent now of two, understand that she has a small stomach and can only eat a certain amount before she becomes full. And she proves me right every time I give her too much, as we would often have to throw away the cereal that she couldn't finish.

This is not an easy thing to explain to a three-year-old, but once grasped, it will radically affect her view of life. So our dialogue goes something like this...

"Do you have a lot of Buba's or enough?" - "enough"
"Do you have a lot of Daddy's or enough? - "enough"
"Do you have a lot of Mommy's or enough?" - "enough"

So instead of giving her everything she asks for, I give her enough of what she needs - not to much, but enough. And guess what? To her surprise, she was content with enough.

Unfortunately, even as adults we have a horrible time realizing this reality. I imagine that our Heavenly Father shakes his head in amazement at our needless requests for things that we don't need, and the quantities that we ask for. God, please give me more income... God, please give me a bigger house... God, please give me the car with all the bells and whistles... The bible tells us that we have not because we ask with the wrong motives, asking for things to dispose of upon our selfish desires, and not for His purposes (James 4:3). But God not only wants to provide us with our needs, but desires to provide us with good things, for our well-being and benefit (Matt. 7:7-11, Romans 8:28).

And how insulting is it to God when we forget that His grace is sufficient for us, and continually try to earn his favor by works and good deeds, trying to appease God by doing many "righteous" things to outweigh the sin-debt that we are absolutely unable to pay (2 Cor. 12:9)? How quickly we forget that the work of Christ on the cross was MORE than enough for us.

I think Paul describe the concept of contentment in his letter to the Philippians:

"...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13

Find contentment in enough...

Leadership 101: People do what they're lead to do

I've heard my pastor speak several times about leadership within the church world. One of the topics he often deals with is in the form of a complaint from pastors and leaders about their followers. "My people won't _____." The blank can represent a lot of things for church leaders; tithe, serve, go on missions, love one another, practice evangelism, etc. Many times, a leader will experience this frustration, not for lack of communicating the need, but because they haven't lead their people in this area by actually modeling the desired action themselves. A leader can't lead someone to do something that they themselves are not doing. Tough talk, but nevertheless, reality.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch where you and me and everyone else lives, the question arises: "so what?" Well, here's where it applies to me.

Over the last few days, i have experienced a lot of frustration with my 3yr-old daughter. She back-talks frequently, talks very rudely, all with a less-than-desired-tone... Up until now, this has not been a regular occurance, and when it did happen, our usual discipline approaches correct these behaviors. So what do you do when your normal parenting approaches don't work? That's right! You raise your voice, give them the mean parent face, and use every threat you can think of, but never follow through... very inneffective, unproductive, and harmful at best.

So my sweet, loving, meek wife brings this idea to my attention after we had another behavior problem this morning. Not her exact words, but the idea is this: "she is only acting out the way she sees us act out." No way to counter the wisdom of a Proverbs 31 woman... My daugher is doing what I've lead her to do. If I want a certain behavior in her, if I want her to respond a certain way when things don't go well, if I want her to share and be loving to her friends and neighbors - you guessed it. I have to do it myself if I hope to lead her to do the same.

People do what people see. This applies to anyone who has a position of authority or influence on another person - that includes moms, dads, brothers, sisters, co-workers, employees, teammates, and even church leaders :). What is it that your "people" won't do, that you haven't lead them to do?

testing for pride...

Just the other day I had a friend tell me about recent experience in being humbled. Someone had the courage to show him one of his "blind spots". Instead of digging in his heals and defending himself, he chose to be teachable and allowed humility to produce growth in him.

Where personal defensiveness arises, you can be sure that pride is not far.

Humility is a litmus test for pride. Apart from it, we are not able to discern pride in ourselves. The measure of pride is directly related to the amount of personal pain we experience when we are exposed to humility. The more prideful we are, the more it hurts.

When our confidence, peace and joy are found in Jesus Christ and HIS work in us and others, humbling circumstances will not only be painless, but will further solidify our confidence and joy in Christ our King.

finding rythm, staying in tune

Over the last month or two, I have been a little out of sync with life. Not quite sure why, but just seemed to be just a count off beat, a little out of rhythm with this current season of my life. For no apparent reason, I often felt despair, struggling to find purpose, experiencing friction in many areas of life, although unnoticeable to many looking on. But every time those feelings came on, I ran hard to God. Each time, He reminded me that in Him I find my peace, my strength, my hope, my purpose, my joy. His provision was enough, yet kept me coming back for more. In short, He sustained me, giving me the kick in the butt I needed to shake the funk that I regularly would fall into.

For whatever reason tonight, I was able to associate all this with being a little out of rhythm in life, often trying to play an instrument that didn't fit the song. Musically speaking, I am not tone-deaf; I know when something sounds out of tune. But in regards to the current season I am in, the current song that my life is playing, I have been most definitely tone-deaf. Wrong instrument, wrong beat, wrong tune.

I'm not quite sure what the song of this season of my life is yet, but I'm catching on to the tune. There is a heavy dependence upon God in prayer; more than I can remember. Also an unveiling of my eyes to see things that I never understood before in scripture, causing me to pour over a few verses for days and days. There is a deepening burden to truly love people. Also an awareness that I don't really know as much as I think I do, realizing that I have much to learn from others, and less emphasis on what I can offer them.

All these things are apart of the song He is playing in my life, the melody. I haven't yet picked up on the lyrics, the message, the purpose of this song, this season, but know that songs are about timing. When the time comes, I am sure that I'll know the lyrics, I'll know the heart of this season. Then, with everything that is in me, I will make a joyful noise, in key, on queue, in rhythm, signing His song for this season of my life.

Teach me Your song Lord Jesus. Show me the purpose of this season. Fill my lungs. I will sing your song with all that I am. I will not be silent.

The Bread of Life

Our lifegroup has been going through a Bible study on John chapter 6, and spent our time in group this week on verses 22-40. This passage is about how Jesus addresses the crowd on the Bread of Life. http://www.youversion.com/bible/niv/john/6/22

I found myself spending a lot more time on this passage then I thought possible... So much going on here with the questions and answers being ask by Jesus and of Jesus. Many observations here, but too many for one single blog. Take some time to read this passage, and as you do, consider your answers to these questions:

1. Read John 6:26... Why do you seek Him?
2. Read John 6:27... What "food which perishes" do you need to stop working for, so that you have time to work for food that does not perish, "the Bread of Life"?
3. Read John 6:28-29... How do you (or have you) complicated "working" for the Bread of Life?
4. Read John 6:29-31... What "signs" have you asked God to do so that you would believe?
5. Read John 6:35-40... What does this passage say? What is the significance of this reality in your life?

fruit or the vine?

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." - Proverbs 14:12

As Christians, we desire to be fully devoted followers of Christ, to be found pleasing and acceptable in the sight of the Lord. And as a response of sincerely wanting to live the abundant life in Christ that the bible calls us to, we fill our spiritual lives with certain disciplines and activities that are reflective of that which we want to be: fully devoted followers of Christ.

Things like reading our bibles daily, spending time in prayer, going to church, to lifegroup/biblestudy/sunday school are among those things which we associate with an "Evangelical-Bible-Believing-born-again Christian" We may even further be involved as ushers, and childcare workers, volunteering in a variety of service and mission opportunities, even leading people to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior; these are the "do's". Conversely, we also dissociate Christians with certain activites, such as drinking, speeding, cursing, unkindness, hate, and on and on the list of "don'ts" goes.

And so goes the Christian religion: do the activities that are reflective of a believer; bear fruit. Consequently, the underlying point of all the activities (or non activities) is this: if I do the "do's" and refrain from the "don'ts", then I am a fully devoted follower of Christ; a Christian. But is that the point? Is this the message that the bible teaches? Is the fruit the point, or is there more to it?

To be clear, I am not condemning these Christian activities. There is nothing wrong with having bible studies, reading the bible in a year, serving at church, etc. These are wonderful Christian disciplines and activites. However, they are not the point.

One of the essential beliefs of Christianity is that we are saved by grace alone. period. It is impossible to earn our salvation through the doing of works, of "Christian activities." As Christians, we know this; it is hard-wired into our very being. We know that these activities don't save us, but we want to do them, out of a response of what Christ has done for us.

Paul says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10"

And so we go, ever so passionately striving to be that fully devoted follower of Christ, dying to one's self, taking up our cross, and engaging in fruit activities. But the subtlty of all our activity is that we do fruit-like activities to show that we are fully devoted followers of Christ, instead of seeking and knowing the One that produces fruit in us. Remember what Paul says in Galations 5:22: "but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfullness, gentelness, and self-control. Notice that this fruit is born of the Holy Spirit in us, not of ourselves.

So what's the point? Let's look at what the One we follow said:

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:4-5

What does this mean? It means seek the Lord. Seek to remain in Him. Don't just read the Bible; devour it; meditate on it. Seek His face. Ask him to help you understand what you read. Tell him what you feel when you read His word. Be still; listen. learn what it means to pray without ceasing. Seek to know the Lord Jesus, and to be known by him, for apart from him, we can bear no true fruit.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers!'" Matthew 7:21-23

Serving Him does not replace us knowing Him. Activity does not equal life.

Does this resonate with you? Have you found yourself in seasons where the fruit , not the vine, was the goal?

the little things

I've recently become very aware that God is calling me to be faithful in the little things; driving the speed limit, picking up a small piece of trash that I dropped, choosing to be truthful when it is easier and more convenient to be decietful. Yes, these are small things that the world around us justifies everyday, but does that make it right? Does the majority rule, or does God rule?

1 John 1:5-7 says "This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you. God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie, and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin."

You're either walking in the light or your not - it's that simple. There is no gray area with God. Hot or Cold; light or darkness. you choose. Choose to leave the gray. Choose to be in the light.

Idol Talk

I had the opportunity to go to the men's big12 basketball tournament yesterday, and so I had to act on it. I am a huge fan of college basketball, especially OSU. Kinda is akward at first, remembering how to cheer your guts out for your team after you are out of school. I used to go nuts at home games while in Stillwater, yelling 'til my voice was gone.

As I was sitting there, God decided that He would speak to me about what was going on around me, whether I wanted Him to or not. So, in the middle of a very heated and intense bedlam game, I made some observations: when my team did good, myself and our fans errupted with cheers and excitement; when things went wrong, we release resounding sighs and express our openly display our dissappointment. When we thought that our team was being treated unfairly, we let loose our boo's, disgust, and choicest words; when the other team made a mistake or was penalized, we cheered in the face of our opponents' fans. Pretty typical of every sporting event that I have ever been to, unfortuneatly.

Why do we do this?People love their schools, their teams, their players. Why? Because they are a source of pride to their fans when their team does well, and a source of shame when they dissapoint us. They represent our honor, our prestige, our pride, us. If they do well, we do well. If they do poorly, our pride suffers.

Still trying to enjoy a very exciting game, I suddenly was evauluating myself, trying to determine why i was so ticked off that the ref made a horrible call against my team, and why I was soo stinkin happy when they responded with a huge answer bucket. I'll let you ponder these questions for yourself, to try to determine why you do what you do, and ask God if He approves - that is between you and him. But for me, I discovered that I was responding to the game in this way because the team on the floor and the name on their jersey represented my pride, and was nothing short of an idol.

My conviction during a Thursday night baskeball game was not about being a fan of a team or a sport. It was an awareness that there are idols in my life, things that are taking God's place as the number 1 ranking in my life. It is a warning sign to me when my mood and emotions are affected by the outcome of a game - win or loose - or any other event or happening in my life. It is an indicator of what is apparently more important to me. Am I more excited about Jesus changing someone's life or my team winning? Do I get more dissapointed and bothered when a loved one is far from God, or that my team looses?

"Awe come on! lighten up man! It's sports! It's just a game! Besides, everybody knows that idols are made of gold and wood, from the bible stories, not basketball teams or schools - don't be so legalistic!" Sound like what you are thinking? Maybe your right. But if God convicted you of this, would you listen? Or would you justify why it is no big deal, that you're not as big of a fanatic as the other guy?

After dealing with the awareness of this sobering insight, I thought that was the end of God's pruning, at least for one night. Then he smacked me in the face with the next blow. My idols are not confined to athletic events. I have some at work, too. You see, I get really pumped up when I seal a deal on a contract that I was trying to land, or when I'm able to solve some glaring problem on a project. Why? Because it makes me look good to my boss, my peers, and upper management. I want to win, I want to do well, I want to succeed because I worship myself.

It's no wonder that God forbids idolatry, for to worship anything else other than the one true God, is truely a counterfit that leaves us with absolutely nothing in the end. It's the counterfiets that deceive us. They are true-ish beliefs that the world has sold us on. And we bite on that bait, almost every time, often without even knowing it. Proverbs 14:12 says: "there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."

What counterfits, what idols, what lies have you bought into (in the past or currently)? What are the warning signs that you use to identify if something is an idol in your life?
Too important of an issue for us to not answer these kinds of questions. What say you?

remember

Throughout the Old Testament, there are stories of individuals who would construct a monument of some kind to memorialize an event or covenant that they wanted to remember. Other times, God would cause his people to write down what he said, or have certain feasts throughout the years so that they would not forget what he had told them or what God had done for them. And what about taking communion - "do this in rememberance of Me."

God knows that we have a tendancy to forget. Forgetting small things is a small thing. Forgetting what God has done for us, and what He has revealed to us is a big thing. Sweat the big stuff.

The other day, I had a moment where I was doubting God - doubting that He was there, that this Christian life I'm living was real. I had suddenly found myself disoriented in my faith, unsure of where I was. I needed to find something constant, something familiar, to help me remember where I was and where I was going. Like a neon sign, there it was, flashing at me, "remember."

It was just a simple reminder, where God had revealed Himself to me in such a way that I knew without a shadow of a doubt that He was real - so real that I thought God himself was literally sitting next to me. (I'll post about this event another time). God had burned that event forever in my memory, creating a spiritual monument, a faith milestone, so that I wouldn't forget what He had shown me.

The panic subsided; the feeling of confusion and doubt had vanished. I remembered who my God is. He was there all along, waiting for me to remember.

What events can you fall back to where God showed up, where He was faithful, where you really understood something about Him, where He proved to you that He was real?

What are the monuments that God has provided in your life? What monument is He constructing right now?

Remember.

method vs message?

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. - 1 John 1:3

I was watching some video clips of some Christian teachers that I follow on YouTube last night, and decided to read some of the comments left by the viewers. Starting off, i expected to read some really great comments, full of insight and encouragement left by other viewers... Instead, i found myself walking through a war zone between mockers and professing Christians.

There was an occasional person seeking truth for some honest questions, but by and large, many of the commenters weren't looking for answers - they were on they attack. As I continued through several pages of comments, I observed several conversations between those slinging accusations and individuals who seemed to be Christ followers. The troubling thing, though, was that often I couldn't tell who was the non-believer and who was the Christian. Respondents lacing their comments with profanity, filled with hatred for the person opposing their view point, condescending remarks - absolutely disgusted by what I was observing.

I had read the verse above today, and couldn't help noticing that it applies to what I observed last night. John writes that the purpose of sharing our faith, what we have seen and heard, is so that others would have fellowship with us and with Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.

It is extremely important that Christians be not only equipped to give an answer for the hope that we have in the Lord Jesus, but we MUST FINISH WHAT THE TEXT SAYS!

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. - 1 Peter 3:15

...with gentleness and respect. Our method will defeat our message on the battle ground for truth if they are not Christ-centered and Christ-driven. Only a method of sharing and defending our faith consistent with the Gospel we proclaim has any hope of being received and honestly considered by those we intend to reach for Christ. We must not forget that the reason we share and defend our faith is so that others may have fellowship with us, in fellowship with the Lord Jesus - this is our joy as followers of Jesus Christ.